For Love

Dream 2

After such a good day the day before, Kairi awoke feeling that nothing could go wrong. But that all quickly changed when she registered the warm weight resting peacefully on her chest. Opening her eyes, she saw the scruffy brown furball that was Sora. She groaned and rolled over, violently uprooting him from his sleep.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed sleepily. He sat up and shook his head before giving his paw a quick lick. Then he was up on his feet and prancing around on Kairi's side, trying to get her up.

"It's Saturday and it's nine o'clock!" he cheerfully informed her. "Time to get up! We've got work to do!"

He mewled in discomfort when Kairi's hand shot out from under the blankets and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, lifting him into the air. Then he was deposited onto the floor. Like lightning, he was back up on the bed a split second later.

"Don't be like that, Kairi," Sora said, cautiously prodding her with a paw. "We've got work to do! And I know you've got tons of questions. I can start answering some now before breakfast."

Kairi finally sat up and narrowed her eyes at Sora. "Fine. You aren't going to let up until I get out of bed anyway, are you?"

"Nope!" Sora said, a little too chipper for Kairi's tastes. "I'll be sitting outside. Let me know when you've finished dressing."

Kairi watched as he jumped down and went over to the window, which was still open. He hunched down and then sprang out of the window to land easily on a tree branch. Kairi sat in her bed for a moment longer, trying to clear the haze in her mind and will her legs to carry her over to the window so she could shut the curtain. She didn't care if Sora was technically a cat; he was still Sora and a guy and there was no way he was going to see her naked.

She gratefully shucked off her school uniform and undergarments, tossing them into her pink laundry basket. Then she began her hunt for something decent to wear. It seemed her 14-year-old self in that world preferred preppy, low-cut shirts and short skirts. She dug through the drawers, pushing aside clothing in hopes of finding something from her grandparents, knowing they would have given her something more fitting for her age. She finally located a one-piece black swim suit and tossed it over her shoulder so she could wear it under her clothes. Next came a purple wrap-around skirt with a pretty scalloped trim. Hiding right under it was a white and purple spaghetti strap shirt.

It was one of her favorite outfit combinations when she was fourteen, particularly on days when she was out at the island with her friends. Happy to have found something else familiar, she quickly changed into it and then threw open her curtains and called Sora back in.

"Alright, cat-boy," Kairi said, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "Explain away."

Sora leapt up onto the bed and settled down beside her. "I guess I should start at the beginning."

"That would be best, yes," Kairi remarked.

"Thousands of years ago there existed the kingdom of Radiant Garden," Sora began. "It was ruled by a magnificent King and Queen who would give their lives to save their home and people. There were few complaints during that time and their reign held together the rest of the planets in this system, including this one.

"Aside from the protection of the King and Queen and their small Royal Army, there were other warriors who fought to keep the peace; to keep outsiders from coming in and destroying our homes, for there were always those from other galaxies who wished to try and conquer this system and arrange it in a way that would better suit themselves. Those Soldiers of Protection, as they came to be called, were led by a young woman from Radiant Garden. She took on the name Heart Soldier, which later changed to Sailor Heart."

"Me?" Kairi asked in surprise.

Sora nodded. "Your incarnate."

"Why the change of name? Kairi asked before Sora could continue. "Why change it from 'Soldier' to 'Sailor'?"

"Probably because it sounded less threatening," Sora said. "They didn't want to be lumped in with the army. Anyway, there were four others who joined her to defend their homes. Each one had a different gift and was from a different planet. There was the warrior of fire from Trabia Garden; the warrior of ice and water was from Traverse; from Gaia was the warrior of lightning; and from Twilight was the warrior of light."

"All of those planets are still around," Kairi remarked. "My friend- well, um, an old friend of mine was from Trabia. But I've never heard of Radiant Garden. Where is that?"

"You would know it as Hollow Bastion," Sora said.

"The Dead Planet?" Kairi gasped. "But how? If it was so powerful back then, how did it fall?"

"I'll get to that in a minute," Sora said. "But as I was saying, there were five Soldiers of Protection led by Sailor Heart, but there were a few rogues who helped out from time to time. You may meet one or two of them. And not all of them were girls! There was at least one guy from Fantasia. I think he used plants… and he was always with some girl from Olympia…

"But anyway, unrest began growing the more the Soldiers had to fight outsiders who tried to come in and take over. People grew worried that one day they would be overwhelmed and defeated. They wanted some sort of backup team that would be able to take care of anything that slipped through.

"A breakthrough came when a scientist named Ansem and his six assistants created a creature they believed capable of protecting the planets. However, the ones they created were very primitive and the project was cancelled and all specimens ordered to be destroyed."

"But they weren't," Kairi guessed.

"Correct," Sora said with a nod. "Ansem returned to his duty as the King and Queen's lead scientist, but his assistants did not join him. Just days before the creatures were scheduled to be destroyed, there was a break-in. I remember running down there to help out when the alarm sounded. I had been in the kitchens sneaking a midnight snack, so I was one of the closest people when it happened. But anyway, I got down to the labs to find the place in shambles. Ansem was slumped over on the ground, unconscious, and there was glass everywhere. Things had been torn off the walls, exposing secret vaults which had once held all of the research. And worst of all, the cages that held the creatures had been torn apart."

He paused to take a breath. "That was the birth of the Heartless, from which sprang the Dark Ones."

"Were they the ones who destroyed Radiant Garden?" Kairi asked.

Sora nodded. "The Heartless were weak and easily dispatched of. However, they bred quickly and their numbers soon became overwhelming. And the Dark Ones were even worse. They could think for themselves. They had logical reasoning. And they could assume a human form. It was because of them that the Kingdom fell, but the King and Queen had a final ace up their sleeves.

"There was one rogue Soldier with the gift of destruction who was from the ancient planet of Spira. The King and Queen knew that a Rebirth was the only way they could win. They talked it over with the Soldiers - all of them they could find. Some agreed and some disagreed an decided to stay to do what they could to protect people. Four Guardians, myself included, were assigned to go through the Rebirth as well, so we could instruct you on what to do when the time came.

"But something went wrong. The Rebirth was suppose to cause the Dark Ones to lose their gained power and start all over, just like the Soldiers. Instead, they were sent into a cryogenic sleep and only lost a few of their powers."

"What happened to the King and Queen?" Kairi asked. "And the heir?"

"The King and Queen gave all of their power for the Rebirth to work," Sora said sadly, his ears flicking back against his skull in discomfort. "And as for the heir, he or she was reborn here in this time, same as you."

"Why don't you remember if it's a guy or girl? That seems like something pretty important."

"Not all parts of a plan go as planned."

"What does that mean?"

Sora turned his head away, giving a cats equivalent of a shrug.

There was silence for a moment while Kairi digested everything that she had been told. How could a dream be so complicated?

"You said…" she said slowly. "That there are four Guardians and that you're one of them, right?" At Sora's nod, she continued. "But who are the other three and where are they? Why aren't you with them?"

"We got separated when we were transported here. You see, we didn't go through the Rebirth like you did. We couldn't. What happened to us is similar to what happened to the Dark Ones. That is, we were set in a cryogenic sleep to awaken when the time was right," Sora explained. "And as for the other three… I don't really know where they are. I'm sure that once they catch wind of what's going on over here they'll be here in a flash. At least… I hope so…"

Kairi shifted, uncomfortable with the sad loneliness in his tone. She was so used to seeing him with a cheerful smile that it was heartbreaking to see him any other way. She vowed then to do everything in her power to cheer him up, even if it meant hunting down the other guardian's by herself.

Instead of continuing with the subject, Kairi changed it. "So, what do you have planned for the day?"

Sora's stomach growled and the cat gave a sheepish look. "How about breakfast?"

Kairi laughed and agreed.

Kairi was sure she was going to regret offering to buy Sora breakfast. If he was anything like the Sora she knew, who was like a bottomless pit, she felt she'd be lucky to have any munny left.

Sora behaved himself, ordering only a double stack of pancakes, three sausage links, and some eggs, which left her enough munny to get her usual chocolate chip pancakes and milk.

"After this we can go down to the beach," Sora said. "The water's colder than usual since it's winter, so there shouldn't be many people. We can practice some fighting moves that'll come in handy. You have your necklace with you, right?"

Kairi nodded, feeling the delicate chain around her neck.

"Great," Sora said. "You won't be able to use any of your powers unless we find a good secluded place, but the necklace might help draw out your fighting skills."

"Am I going to be fighting you?" Kairi asked.

Sora grinned. "Yeah. Why? You think I can't fight? I'm a trained Guardian! Guardian's require extensive training so they can assist their Soldier! Well, that and a special skill… that's why there's so few of us. The fact that there were four of us during the age of Radian Garden just shows much bad things were going."

The glimmer of sadness flickered back into Sora's eyes but before Kairi could do anything to try and help, the waitress appeared with their food.

"If there's anything else I can get you, just let me know," she said as she set the plates on the table.

Kairi looked up, planning to ask for a refill on her milk, but froze when she recognized the young girl. Sure, her pale hair was shorter and pulled back into a messy ponytail, but there was no mistaking those expressive light blue eyes.

'Naminé…'

"Would you like a refill?" she politely asked, pointing to the glass in Kairi's hand.

Kairi jerkily nodded and handed the glass over. As their fingers brushed, a spark of energy jumped between them and Naminé dropped the glass with a soft gasp.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed in a panicked tone. "I-I'll go get something to clean that up! I'm so sorry!" She gave a hurried bow and then rushed off to fetch a broom and dustpan.

"Hey," Sora said, tapping Kairi's elbow. "Do you know her?"

Kairi nodded, staring after her. "Y-yeah. But only barely. Her name's Naminé."

Sora frowned as he began to cut into his pancakes. "There's a strange energy around her. We'll have to keep a close eye on her."

"On Naminé?" Kairi asked in surprise. "But she's not evil!"

"You don't know that."

Kairi fell silent and poked at her food. The idea that Naminé could be in league with the Dark Ones was completely ridiculous. She may not have known her very well, but she knew from Olette that she was a very sweet girl who did all that she could to help those around her. She was about as evil as one of the butterflies in the park!

Kairi and Sora finished their breakfast in silence, neither of them too surprised when a different waitress came by to clean up the glass.

A half hour later, the two finally made it out to the beach. Sora was pleased to find that there were only a few people milling about. It was as he was pulling off his jacket that Kairi realized that the cat ears and tail he sported the night before were gone.

'A way to better blend in?' Kairi wondered. 'But if that's the case, why didn't he do that before?'

"Alright, lets get started," Sora said, slipping into a fighting position.

Kairi did the same, one fist held high to block strikes to her face and chest, the other fist a little lower, ready to strike out at a moments notice. She knew she had a bit more of an advantage, since she knew her Sora's moves. The question was, how different was the Sora in the new world? And how used to fighting in the sand was he?

Taking a chance, Kairi made the first move. She dashed forward, easily moving over the sand with her light body, her feet barely sinking down. She unclenched her raised fist, planning to feint a palm-strike to his chin and them trip him up when he'd go to block. As she anticipated, Sora caught her wrist and the other as she brought it up, leaving her free to hook a leg behind his and pull it out from under him so he'd topple backwards. Unfortunately, she lost her balance as well and ended up falling on top of Sora, knocking the breath out of him.

To her surprise, Sora started laughing.

"Man, I haven't been knocked over like that since the last time I sparred with Riku!" Sora exclaimed. "But that's only because he knows my moves. C'mon, lets try that again!"

Kairi got off of Sora and took a few steps back, brushing herself off. Then she retook her fighting stance.

A few hours later, the exhausted and sand-covered duo walked around town and looked in the windows of all the stores while discussing what they should have for lunch.

"I'm out of munny," Kairi reminded him. "We'll have to go back to my house to get food."

"But you had munny this morning, right?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, but I spent it all on breakfast," Kairi said. "I don't know how I'm going to keep up with keeping you. But it'd be weird to bring you over for meals and introduce ya as a new friend and I can't keep you at home when you're in your cat form. Axel'll find out somehow and start freakin' out and then I'll get in trouble and you'll be without a home and it'll just be a whole big mess."

Sora looked over at her with an amused little grin on his face. "Do you always panic like that? It's kind of cute."

Kairi blushed. "S-shut up. This is serious! I've got to find you a better place to stay!"

"You're looking for a place to stay?"

Kairi and Sora turned around at the same time to see Tidus standing there holding a bag of hamster food.

"Not for him," Kairi said quickly, the gears in her brain turning. "For this cat I found. It's a cute little thing. Kind of scruffy. But Sora here can't keep him and my brother has allergies, so I can't keep him. Do you know anyone who could take him?"

"A cat?" Tidus asked, his eyes lighting up. "My parents have been talking about getting one lately. See, my little sister has taken a liking to them and keeps begging to have one. I know she won't take care of it and that the responsibility will fall on me, but I like cats too. Can I see him?"

"Sure. I left him up in my room where Axel can't find him," Kairi said. "We can go see him now. Oh!" She gasped suddenly, her hand raising to her mouth. Then she turned to look at Sora and asked, "Weren't you suppose to get home soon?"

"Huh?" Sora asked in surprise.

"You're suppose to be getting home, remember," Kairi said, narrowing her eyes. Not for the first time she wished that Sora was better at picking up nonverbal hints. If she hinted any more then Tidus would think something was going on and that would lead to unwanted questions.

Sora frowned but then nodded. "Yeah, alright. I'll see you later. We still gotta talk about that thing."

Kairi nodded.

Sora stayed there for a moment longer, scuffing his shoe along the ground. Then he sighed and started to walk away.

"Is he alright?" Tidus asked once Sora was out of hearing range.

"He's fine," Kairi replied. "So you want to see the cat, right? We'd better get over there. It doesn't take long for Axel to get suspicious when I keep my door closed. It'll be a miracle if he hasn't gone in there already."

'It really will,' Kairi mused. 'He's always going in there for one reason or another. Probably just to make me paranoid about what he's doing in there.'

The two walked in silence to Kairi's house for most of the trip before Tidus couldn't take it anymore and started to talk about something going on in some video game forum he was a part of. Kairi let her mind wander, picking up on only a few interesting phrases from her friend.

It wasn't long before they made it to the two-toned gray house and Kairi asked Tidus to wait outside while she went up to her room to retrieve Sora. Miraculously, Axel was out hanging with his friend Demyx and Reno was locked away in his room, so she didn't have to try and sneak past either of them for once. It made her task of talking Sora into staying with Tidus much easier.

"You can't do this," Sora protested the moment she stepped into the room. "I'm your guardian! What if there's an emergency and I'm not around to assist you because I'm stuck over at his house?"

"Everything will be fine," Kairi tried to reassure him. "And it's just temporary until we figure out a better place for you to stay. Hey, maybe when we find the other Soldier's one of them will be able to take you in."

"But I'm your guardian!" Sora protested. "I'm suppose to protect you, not some other Soldier! I mean, not that I won't protect them once we find them, but it's the principle of things!"

"Look," Kairi said impatiently. "You're going to be just down the road and you can come over here to talk to me whenever you need to. Its not like you're so far away that you won't see me go anywhere. And Tidus will see you as just a cat so you can come and go as you please. It's not a big deal."

"That's not the point!"

Kairi sighed and sat down beside him on the bed. "Sora, you really can't stay here," she said calmly. "My brother will eventually find out that you're here and there's no way I can feet you. No offense, but you eat a lot. Or at least way more than I can sneak out of the kitchen. This isn't going to work. Go with Tidus until we can work out something better."

Sora was silent for a moment longer before he gave in. "Fine. But just for a while! And I'm coming over here every day!"

"Okay," Kairi agreed.

A half hour later, Kairi found herself all by herself in the park, shivering against the cooling breeze. She sat down on one of the park benches, wishing she had thought to grab a jacket before leaving the house. She knew Sora would lecture her for it later, as well as for going off on her own without letting him know she was leaving, but she had to get away from everyone for a little while.

"…gettin' way too weird, yo," she muttered to herself. "I shouldn' be havin' this dream again. One night was more'n enough."

She reached up and grasped the heart-shaped charm dangling from the chain and felt it pulse once. As she let it go, a shrill scream pierced the air. She jumped to her feet and looked around for the source, her heart pounding in her chest. The scream came again and Kairi took off in the direction it came from. She rounded one of the "blocks" of the park and gasped when she saw a grotesque humanoid butterfly-like creature which looked like something out of the movie "The Fly". It had Naminé backed up against a tree.

Kairi clutched her necklace and didn't have to think about what to do as she shouted out her transformation phrase. The transformation seemed to go more quickly than the first time, as the cool ribbons slid over her body, encasing her in the stretchy material of her sailor suit. The moment her feet touched back down to solid round, Sailor Heart drew her energy into the palm of her hand and formed a pink orb, which she threw at the creature, knocking it on the head and drawing its attention away from Naminé. Then she rushed in and delivered a kick to its head before it had a chance to fully take in what was going on. The creature flew away to the other side of the small clearing, crashing into a bed of flowers and causing petals and dirt to go flying everywhere.

Sailor Heart rushed over to Naminé's side while she had the chance and made sure the girl was okay. "Hurry and get out of here!" she advised when she found that the blonde girl was okay. "I'll stay here and take care of this. Just get someplace safe!"

"B-but--"

"Don't ask, just do it!" Sailor Heart snapped, starting to panic. She couldn't fight all out and protect Naminé at the same time! If the girl didn't get out of there she was going to end up seriously hurt. 'Where's Sora when I need him?'

"You bitch," the insect-creature growled. "Just you wait until I get my hands on you! You'll regret picking a fight with me!"

Sailor Heart rolled her eyes, finding the statement so utterly cliché. "Somehow, I doubt that," she muttered before glancing down at Naminé, who appeared frozen in fright. "Hey, I'm going to give you an opening and then I want you to run," she whispered to her. "Run as far away as you can. Get to where there's a lot of people and hide."

Naminé nodded numbly.

Sailor Heart shifted her stance as she raised her eyes back up to the creature. "Alright you creepy bug thing," she said as she clenched her fists, instinctively channeling energy into them to intensify her attack strength. "Lets rumble."

Without waiting for a reply, Sailor Heart dashed forward, moving faster than she ever had before in her life. But the Dark One was just as fast and was able to block her hit and send her flying backwards into a tree.

Fire erupted along Sailor Hearts spine as she slumped to the ground and stars blazed behind her eyelids as her vision went dark. In that one moment, her powers spiked wildly, heating up her entire body as it tried to fight away the pain so she could get up. And then it started to fade away, leaving her exhausted and feeling as if she were unable to continue fighting.

'No,' she thought, desperately trying to move her body. 'I can't give up now. I have to save Naminé!'

She opened her eyes, blinking away the fuzzy blackness and the burning bright stars. As her vision finally began to clear, she could make out the hazy form of Naminé cowering against the tree as the Dark One advanced on her. 'No!'

One of her fingers twitched. And then another. Slowly, she moved her hand up to grasp a low-laying tree branch. Inch-by-inch, she was able to pull herself back up to her feet. "I will not let you hurt her," she growled, her whole body trembling violently from the strain placed on it. She tried to take a step forward only for her spine to erupt into a blistering pain once again. She stumbled, only able to stay standing thanks to the tree branch.

"Wait," a sweet voice whispered.

Sailor Heart shivered. That voice sounded so familiar to her but she knew she had never heard it before in her life. For a moment, the pain vanished as she focused on placing where she had heard the voice before.

"She'll be okay. Watch and see."

She started to look around for the owner of the voice but stopped when she felt it; the barest pinprick of pure energy was radiating from Naminé. It grew stronger as a pale blue light began pulsing around her before blowing out into a bubble-like sphere. Before Sailor Hearts eyes, water filled the bubble, clouding it over and making it impossible to see the girl inside. Then it burst, but instead of the power exploding outwards it imploded, drawing the energy back to Naminé, who stood there in an outfit very similar to Sailor Hearts own. Faster than anyone could blink, Naminé instinctively unleashed her power in her final attack.

"Peaceful Waters! Glacial Surge!"

The Dark One barely had time to let out a screech of anger before it was frozen in a solid block of ice. Naminé, or rather, Sailor Peace, delivered a kick to it and it shattered into hundreds of pieces before fizzling away.

It was then that Sailor Heart got to see Sailor Peace's full outfit. The leotard was white and the sailor collar attached to it was pale blue, as was the snowflake-shaped brooch pinned to the middle of the cerulean blue bow, which matched the fabric choker around her neck. Her arms were covered by white elbow-length gloves with pale blue bands holding them up. Her pleated skirt was also pale blue, as were her knee-high boots. The bow attached to her skirt was pale blue as well, which made it difficult to see that it was there and not just a malformed part of her skirt.

The most noticeable part of her outfit was the pale blue, almost white goggle-like visors which covered her eyes and hid the silver circlet which wound its way across her forehead.

"See," the voice gently whispered. "Looks like you don't quite need my help yet."

Sailor Heart quickly turned around in time to see a white-tuxedoed figure toss a white rose over to her before turned around and vanishing. Then the pain flared in her back and her vision went black.

End Chapter

Ta-da! I finally got this chapter finished. I'm sorry it took so long. I think my muses decided to take a mini-vacation and leave me with no inspiration. I hope it doesn't happen again for a while. It's a bit annoying.

This chapter went through a surprising number of revisions, considering it usually just gets written down on paper and then gets little changes done to it when I'm typing it up. The ending scene was probably changed 3 times and half the scenes I couldn't get written down on paper. And the whole fight scene was completely redone when I typed it up.

I don't know why this chapter was so hard to write. It really wasn't that bad.